Although sitting at a computer all day could probably be considered one of the most dangerous jobs given that it completely destroys your cardiovascular and skeletal systems, its also a very boring way to shorten your life. The 25 most dangerous jobs in the world promise a much more satisfying demise.

Street Sweeper

If youve ever been to Kiva, Rwanda youll know why street sweepers are on this list. Many women work all hours of the night in busy traffic and less than friendly neighborhoods.

Mountain Guides

Between ice, long falls, jagged rocks, wind, low air pressure, and a whole slew of other dangerous sounding conditions there is a reason that climbing mountains is not know for its safety.

Carpenters

A broken hip falling from the second floor, a crushed finger, or a dislocated collar bone after slipping from a ladder are just some of the numerous ways you can get injured on this job.

Stunt Men

Between driving cars over cliffs and jumping out of high rises there is plenty of room for death and injury.

Courier Carriers

Consisting of everything from pizza delivery to newspaper boys, this job is actually quite dangerous in most countries. They are often the victims of armed robbery and other violent crimes.

Alligator Wrestlers & Lion Tamers

Well consider this a general category encompassing anybody who deals with dangerous animals on a daily basis. Especially those people that stick their faces in their mouths.

E-Waste Recyclers

Imagine mountains of broken computer parts that need to be sorted out in front of you, some with chemicals oozing out and mixing into the rain water. Thats what these recyclers have to deal with everyday and in some parts of the world like Guiyu, China, working with e-waste is their entire life.

Lineman & Power Workers

Working with electricity is bad enough but working with electricity high above the ground is even worse. Bonus danger points go to the lineman that do this while hanging out of a helicopter.

Farmers & Ranchers

Dealing with large animals, tractors, long hours, and other intensive conditions, farmers dont just sit on their porches all day. Their work can actually be quite dangerous.

Firefighters

From rushing into burning buildings to digging ditches in the middle of the Australian Outback, firefighters arent know for having the safest jobs in the world.

Roofers

Apart from falls and precarious situations, heat stroke and other weather related issues are a given.

Police Officers

Unfortunately they are probably not the most popular public servants in many parts of the world, and yes, corruption is real but some people really do put their lives on the line for others.

Astronauts

Although most people probably dont consider this profession when thinking of dangerous work, since the beginning of the Russian and American space programs about 430 astronauts have gone to space. With 34 deaths that is a 7.5% mortality rate which is significantly higher than many other professions on this list.

Bodyguards & Armored Car Drivers

Depending on what part of the world we are talking about and who or what is actually being guarded, these jobs can get quite hairy.

Slaughterhouse Worker

Often time heavily exploited, the rate of injury is over three time that of other manufacturing and processing jobs. These injuries are often the result of the demand for speed at the assembly line, where workers are many times required to slaughter up to 50 cattle per hour.

Mechanics

Between fumes, chemicals, and dangerous tools, mechanics working on everything from mini coopers to fighter jets are exposed to their fair share of hazardous situations.

Metal Crafters

Besides dealing with the obvious things like heat and metal, these workers typically experience negative health effects in the long term due to inhalation of various chemicals they are exposed to.

Search and Rescue

Whether its the Coast Guard facing high seas or a mountain rescue team facing sub zero temperatures at night, its not hard to sea why this job would make the list.

Sanitation Workers

In many places its paid well for a reason. The potential exposure to all sorts of hazardous materials raises the danger level a few notches.

Land Mine Remover

Although in some parts of the world this is the militarys job, there are many formerly war torn regions completely covered in left over land mines. With governments that could care less there is a job opening in the private market, and its not a fun one.

Personal Transport Drivers

Although busses and trains have their own dangerous, driving rickshaws, tuk tuks, and taxis is in a whole different ball park. Besides the obvious dangers of the road there is the persistent danger of robbery or violence. Even in the United States, taxi drivers have one of the higher on-the-job mortality rates.

Miners

There are few jobs that can destroy your health like mining. Besides the long term danger of the black lung there is the constant risk of cave ins or other potentially life stopping situations.

Bush Pilots

Everybody knows that pilots have a dangerous job. Planes crash all the time right? Wrong. At least not the planes youre probably thinking about. Large airlines are actually a very safe mode of transportation. If you were talking about bush pilots though, thats another story. Facing extremely hostile weather and terrain, their job is anything but safe.

Deep Sea Fishermen

Heres a classic. It actually used to be the most dangerous job on most lists, especially Alaskan crab fisherman. Between high seas, long nights, freezing temperatures, and lots of moving parts there is almost nothing more dangerous.

Lumberjack

Along with deep sea fishing, the logging industry is a long time source of workplace danger. Big trees, sharp saws, and hard hours are not a good mix.